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Nearly thirty million consumers in the Britain who bought an Apple and/or Samsung handset between 2015 and 2024 may be eligible to approximately 17 pounds per person in the event that a customer advocacy organization is successful in its lawsuit against the American corporation Qualcomm Inc..

Trial Starts This Week

The campaign is taking the tech giant to the specialized court in London this week.

The case between the watchdog and the chipmaker is expected to continue for five weeks.

The group is alleging the tech firm of anti-competitive practices.

The group asserts that the company forced Apple Inc. & Samsung Electronics to pay high fees and patent charges for necessary mobile hardware, which then increased the expense of those mobile phones for buyers.

The Details the Trial Will Determine

The case commencing on Monday will focus on whether Qualcomm held dominance and, if proven, whether it exploited a dominant position.

If the advocacy organization is victorious, there will be a second stage seeking £480 million from the tech firm, to be allocated to an estimated 29 million British phone owners impacted.

The consumer group is seeking damages for all impacted Apple Inc. and Samsung smartphones acquired between the start of October 2015 and January 9, 2024.

The group states this would likely work out at around seventeen pounds per person.

Earlier Cases and The Firm's Position

The chipmaker has earlier stated the claim has "no basis".

A comparable legal action against the tech giant is currently underway in Canada, and the corporation has also earlier been penalized by the EU for anti-competition breaches.

The Federal Trade Commission in the America sued the corporation for unfair practices in the way it authorized use of its patents during the year 2017, but had its legal action thrown out in 2020.

Impact of the Trial

The chief executive of the watchdog stated: "This legal action is a huge moment. It illustrates how the collective strength of consumers - backed by the group - can be used to hold the major firms to account when they misuse their market power."

Qualcomm is one of the world's biggest suppliers of smartphone chips and has encountered allegations about restrictive conduct previously.

• Qualifying smartphones include Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics models bought between the end of 2015 and the start of 2024.
• The total payout being sought is 480 million pounds.
• Each compensation is estimated to be around £17.
• The legal action is proceeding at the CAT in London.